PEGBRJE: Gladiabots and A Short Hike
Getting a 2 for 1 deal usually feels relatively good, and today is no exception, because there are two little games to try out, both by solo developers. The first one teaches the basics of my favourite least-favourite topic, TREES.
Gladiabots is a game by GFX47 Games, a solo dev with the aim of creating a sports game with little robots. Simple enough, right? Nothing too out of the ordinary. So what was with the tree comment earlier?
Gladiabots is an AI learning simulator — not that AI learn on their own, but a place for the player to learn the fundamentals of the AI model called Behaviour Trees. The player sets up the behaviours for the robots as there is no player controlling once the play button is activated. Players are given hundreds of different scenarios in the single player ‘campaign’ to create new behaviour trees for the circumstances so that their team will win the sports. As somebody that had to learn BTs in the painful, boring way (in a classroom with a book), Gladiabots is a fantastic introduction to the model, giving players all of the necessary tools to understand the order in which the tree operates and the sequence of execution. There’s even an online competitive mode to pit your AI against others to see who came up with the more robust trees.
There’s really not all that much to Gladiabots — it gives players enough freedom to explore behaviour trees while not bogging them down with the code required to actually create an AI from scratch. If you wish to create an autonomous robotic sports team, or just want to teach a bunch of younger students how behaviour trees work, Gladiabots fills the space.
Completely opposite of a learning experience, we have a Short Hike
A Short Hike is the complete definition of a lazy Sunday afternoon game. Created by Adam Robinson-yu and completed with a soundtrack by Mark Sparling, this 3D adventure allows you to fulfill your wildest lazy dreams of doing, well, nothing.
The goal is to complete a ‘short hike’ up the mountain to the top of Hawk Peak so you can get cellphone reception. That’s the only thing you have to go on. At first, I tried my best to stay on the path, but immediately got lost and started to panic — how was I supposed to find my way back to the path? There are no maps, there are only a few signs that are on pre-existing pathways and everything was just a bunch of mountainous islands. It was after I played a game of beachstickball with some kids that I realized that the point was to be lost.
A Short Hike is a game of exploration, of relaxation and vacation. The world is an archipelago with different folks passing the time doing standard activities. Besides the goal of reaching the top of Hawk Peak, you have no true object except to learn of the world, participate in the games and do what you find fun. Removing any form of timer allows you to truly enjoy the peaceful world that has been created, all the while listening to the soothing tunes of the soundtrack as it changes based on the environment. Once you do attempt to scale to the summit, the game doesn’t restrict you on the approach, allowing you to figure out your own path up the mountain.
A Short Hike is a short game, but one that allows you to spend all of the time in the world doing the simplest of things, and in a pandemic where we can’t even do that, this game gives some comfort in the small things. Try it out if you need a game of comfort for a Sunday, you might lose yourself in its charm.
